The first scene revives some Addams’ ancestors from the grave who are impressively dressed in the intricate designs of Diego Pitarch, providing an ensemble including vikings, matadors and ring masters. Uncle Fester prevents their return so they can help love prevail between his niece Wednesday Addams and her boyfriend Lucas Beineke who hails from a “normal” Ohio family. Wednesday wants to introduce Lucas and his parents to the rest of the family and announce their engagement which leads to secrets and lies putting the family relationships under pressure.

The majority of the staging then occurs in the Addams’ imposing gothic mansion which is eerily lit.

Ricardo Afonso gave an excellent performance as the super smooth Addams patriarch Gomez, trying to keep both his daughter and wife, Morticia, content (happy would be a step too far). Morticia – Alexandra Burke – former X Factor winner, pop star and now regular leading lady on stages around the country gave a note-perfect showing as usual. 

Wednesday, who was performed by Maria Garrett at the performance I saw, produced a powerful vocal performance, thrilling the many cosplaying in the audience who had donned their dark clothing and makeup. Her brother, Pugsley (Nicholas McLean) humourously sings about how he worries her engagement will mean she will never torture him again.

Oliver Award winner Clive Rowe played the moon-crazed Uncle Fester superbly with charm, singing like CeeLo Green.

The family is completed by Lesley Joseph of “Birds of a Feather” fame in the limited but amusing role of Grandma and the slow-moving zombie butler Lurch (Dickon Gough) who earned plenty of laughs with his grunts and moans.

Musical Director Andrew Hilton had the band sounding tight and although the songs are not particularly memorable they don’t drag. This show is funny, entertaining, looks terrific and sitting in a darkened theatre in this heatwave will help if you are seeking a goth look.

The Addams Family is at Lowry, Salford from 13 to 16 August 2025 before continuing on tour. Age recommendation 7+

The post The Addams Family: Review appeared first on Quays Life.

The second was the BBC Radio 3 audience hearing the special edition of “Sound of Gaming” show live over the airwaves, tuning in to the only radio station in the UK to broadcast live classical music.

The third, and what separates this event from other simultaneous broadcasts, was the ability for listeners to attend virtually via their internet browsers by visiting a cutting-edge portal devised in partnership by BBC Research and Development, Max-R and Improbable.

Throughout the concert, the online community were able to navigate their avatars around the immersive concert space using augmented reality and virtual reality to learn more about specific sections and instruments within the orchestra while also adopting some gaming go-to abilities, such as flying around the venue.

Following a quick but interesting introduction from Adam Szabo, the Director of the BBC Philharmonic, who explained the precision required in getting the timing right to the second to allow for the seamless transition between the preceding and succeeding BBC Radio 3 shows, the show was ready to go on-air.

The production was hosted by Elle Osili-Wood, the award-winning radio and television presenter and video game voice-over artist. Osili-Wood is the regular compere of the “Sound of Gaming” radio show and she faultlessly explained each of the tracks with clarity and enthusiasm.

Conducting the orchestra for this special performance was none other than the ground-breaking Eímear Noone who was the first and currently only female conductor to perform at the Academy Awards ceremony in 2020. Noone, who conducts orchestras across the globe (including Royal Philharmonic of London; Sydney Symphony; Singapore Symphony; Pittsburgh Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra), clearly has a love for gaming soundtracks. Her joy at bringing each of the pieces to life was infectious. Having composed 28 scores for movies and video-games, including for the international phenomenon and World Video Game Hall of Fame Inductee that is World of Warcraft, we couldn’t have wished to have a more befitting person to direct the music than Noone.

A wide range of music followed, starting with two pieces from Call of Duty the second biggest gaming franchise (only out-performed by Super Mario) which evoked bombers and battlefields. Gareth Coker’s relaxing score for Ori and the Will of the Wisps was enhanced by the soothing vocals of Noone’s fellow Irishwoman, Andrea Delaney.

After a visit to the Fortnite universe (thankfully without anyone performing the floss dance), Noone got to conduct her own World of Warcraft wonderful composition, “Malach, the Angel Messenger” for which she received the “Hollywood Music in Media Award” for “Best Video Game Score” with its sweeping strings, jaunty wind section and imposing brass.

The innovative soundtrack composed by one of Osili-Wood’s “Sounds of Gaming” presenting predecessors, Jessica Curry, to “Dear Esther” containing morse-code spelling out “Esther”, with its crescendos and crashing drums brought to life the Hebridean landscape.

There was a James Bond style urgency to the “Psychonauts 2” performance while Inon Zur’s Starfield, seven years in the making, was reminiscent of John Williams’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, “Star Wars” and “E.T.”

Delaney returned for the final two pieces: Ben McCreary’s haunting “God of War Ragnorok” and Tetris (sung in Russian), showing off her incredible vocals and range.

The note-perfect show that showcased how classical music is used to elevate the gaming experience is available to listen to on BBC Sounds here Sound of Gaming – On air, online and in concert with the BBC Philharmonic – BBC Sounds.

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This is a familiar boy-meets-girl story but with the addition of teenage hormones, friendships, peer pressure and wisecracks which tread close to bullying.

Local Levenshulme lad Marley Fenton takes the role of the Burger Palace Boys gang-leader, Danny Zuko who falls for Sandy Dumbrowski (Hope Dawe, making an impressive professional debut) in a holiday romance only to be re-united when Sandy moves school to Rydell High. Fenton’s portrayal provides a more vulnerable Danny, whose uncertainty at how to handle his public interactions with Sandy doesn’t match his bravado and banter in front of his mates. Sandy also has to compromise and try to impress her new friends so she can join the Pink Ladies.

Dawe has a fantastic voice with a DIsney character quality and brought whoops from the crowd after a dreamy “Hopelessly Devoted To You” and Fenton can certainly hold a tune too.

The direction from Nicolai Foster makes the show race along but it doesn’t give the central relationship of Danny and Sandy the opportunity to appear genuine.

Strangely, the romance between imposing Burger Palace Boy Kenicke (Ben Nicholas) and Rebecca Stenhouse’s hard-faced Betty Rizzo seems more realistic. Stenhouse is convincing as the mean girl leader and gives her all while showing her vulnerable side performing “There Are Worse Things I Could Do”. Nicholas gives authenticity to the role, looking like he can handle both a gang battle and Rizzo’s acerbic tongue.

The show comes alive when the full cast are on stage performing to Arlene Phillips’s (of Strictly fame) brilliant choreography, particularly during the dance competition at the timely Halloween Ball with Deena Kapadia strutting impressively as Cha Cha.

A radio studio perched high-up at the back of the stage allows Joe Gash to provide a fast-talking DJ Vince Fontaine but it as playful Teen Angel, hitting high notes befitting a fifties crooner in “Beauty School Dropout”, where he gets to display his showmanship and really fire up the audience.

The remaining Burger Palace Boys and Pink Ladies are also given their chance in the spotlight and they all grab it. Lewis Day as Roger and Emerald B as Jan convincingly moon over each other, India Chadwick is a confident Marty, Kieran Lynch makes a charismatic Doody, Alicia Belgarde a friendly Frenchy, and Dylan Gordon-Jones is a really likeable and funny Sonny.

As mentioned earlier, this is not a straight staging of the film version so even if you are Travolta’s biggest fan, expect some new songs and familiar songs in unexpected places (“Sandra Dee” is not sung at the sleepover). However, all of the main songs from the movie are still there and are sung note-perfectly here so get down to The Palace and put a big grin on your face because this staging of Grease has groove and has feeling.

Grease is at The Palace Theatre, Manchester from 8-19 October 2024.

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Location

The inaugural Brit Fest was held on a 100-acre festival site at Ashley Hall and Showgrounds in Altrincham from 5-7 July 2024. The setting for the main stage was fabulously placed at the base of a gentle slope that allowed wonderful views of the stage and the giant video screen from the vast area. 

Glamping, Camping and Parking

Glamping and Camping sites for tweekend ticket holders were located right next to the car park and main entrance, less than a five minute stroll from the main stage. The close proximity of the car park and stages meant there was no need to carry bags and coats around all day because they could be left in the car and picked up whenever needed. For those not wanting to camp but wanting to take advantage of a fruit cider or two, there were free shuttle buses running into Altrincham, meaning the festival was readily accessible from any stops on the Metrolink.

Seating

Picnic benches were available next to most of the food vendors although many people brought their own picnic blankets and camping chairs. Deckchairs were also available to some of the punters who had splurged extra on the VIP package.

ABC+ Warranty Stage

This small stage hosted a variety of different types of performances over the weekend. There were authors, comedians, more yoga, man vs food chilli challenges, choirs that could barely fit all performers onto the stage as well as some up and coming new bands playing original music. Fortunately we managed to catch a young guitar band, The Covasettes with an engaging lead singer who played a really tight set and it is a testament to them that the numbers watching at the end of their set were about t10 times bigger than those at the start. They admitted that their ambition was to play on the Main Stage here next year, and on this evidence, they are well worth a slot.

Main Stage

The artists performing at main arena were the reason people bought tickets and for the majority of the older crowd, once they’d placed their chairs on the grass, they were set for the day and didn’t venture into the other areas. TV presenter Jenny Powell and the Hits Radio DJ Mike Toolan were the comperes on the main stage all weekend with good humour and interacted well with the various competition winners who occasionally got to introduce the acts.

Friday line-up

The line-up on Friday was aimed towards the 90’s indie kid (now in their late 40’s or 50’s so are really pushing the definition of kid at this point). Dodgy, Reef, Starsailor, and The Feeling had taken to the stage before the youngest band on the line-up took over. Fresh from their number one album ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’, Lottery Winners were a massive hit with the audience with their chatter and tunes. Songs from Cast’s early back catalogue were well received but the response to their new material was more muted.

The clear highlight though was the headline set from Scouting for Girls with exquisite showmanship from Roy Stride on keyboard and vocals uplifting the crowd and getting them involved in the experience. They knew how to keep a festival audience on-side and threw in covers alongside their own greatest hits and made their lesser known songs into sing-a-longs.

Saturday line-up

The 1980’s inspired line-up ushered in the busiest day and boasted the shortest time between the acts on the main stage. I must admit to being a little concerned when I first saw the timings for Saturday’s performances given many only had 20 minute slots. I’d assumed they would be performing to pre-recorded tracks given the length of time it normally takes to change the kit for each band. I needn’t have worried however, because there was an amazing house band who provided the backing music for the artists that performed earlier in the day. The 20 minute slots were right for the assembled crowd because it allowed hit after hit to be played – it was clear not everyone in the audience had purchased as many Nik Kershaw singles or played T’Pau’s “Bridge of Spies” and Five Star’s “Silk & Steel” as often as I had in my childhood but I loved every second of all three performances. 

Sonia hasn’t lost much of her energy from when she burst onto the pop scene. The Real Thing had the crowd boogieing to their tracks before Paul Young’s more mellow set. Young’s ageing rasping vocals gave an indication of what to expect from the headline act also known for her gravelly voice.

The times when an additional break was needed between the acts were filled with other nostalgia shots with the introduction of Timmy Mallett who entertained the crowd by hitting a hesitant 73-year-old woman over the head with his giant mallet and going “bluergh” in her face. That took a lot of explaining to some very concerned children in the audience who don’t see that sort of thing on CBeebies these days. The appearance and an interview with ski jumper turned reality TV star, Eddie the Eagle Edwards, also brought smiles to many faces.

Kim Wilde’s longer set allowed for costume changes (removal of sunglasses, donning of cape and various hats) as well as a surprising number of dance moves. Her enjoyment at performing to a responsive crowd was evident, gone was the anger in her “You Keep Me Hanging On” vocals because she was clearly loving every second along with the audience.

The years have made Bonnie Tyler’s voice even more gruff but that didn’t stop the enjoyment of the crowd when she belted out “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “Holding Out for a Hero” sending the day-trippers home happy. 

Sunday line-up

Easy-listening pop was the order of the day on Sunday with The South performing The Beautiful South songs. The Christians were on fine form with Garry Christian chatting between songs in the forlorn hope that some people might rise out of their camping chairs. 

When people emerged from the VIP tents to hear “Slight Return” after The Bluetones had been playing for 30 mins lead singer Mark Morriss quipped the band should have learnt by now to put it earlier in their track listing but it was latecomer’s loss as they’d missed the majority of a really enjoyable set.

A Sunday afternoon chillout session was provided by Tunde from the Lighthouse Family who lifted everyone with his super smooth vocals.

Toploader worked the crowd and gave them what they wanted with a mix of their own material and covers before the eruption of “Dancing in the Moonlight”. 

A joyous, funky performance from Fleur East had the crowd throwing more shapes and a reminder in a tremendous extended version of “Sax” that X-Factor finalists had better singles than many winners.

Former M-People front-woman Heather Small rounded off the weekend with a tremendous set and performance which was only soured by reminding the audience “Moving On Up” was released 30 years ago. Her vocals are still spot on and on this evidence and back-catalogue, I wouldn’t be surprised to see her deservedly take the coveted Glastonbury legends slot next year.

Activities

In true summer festival spirit The Brit Fest wasn’t all music. Yoga workshops and reflexology foot massages were on offer for those looking to relax. And for those seeking more of an adrenalin rush there was a stunt tower allowing anyone from about the age of six upwards to jump from a six metre tower onto a huge airbag.

Altrincham based ice hockey team Manchester Storm had a fun set up allowing people to shoot pucks at an electronic wall against the clock. We also watched the Extreme Bike Show with BMX riders performing tricks up and over ramps and had fun in the solar powered Sol Cinema walking the red carpet before watching a short movie in the eight seater vintage caravan.

There was a much larger screen inside a bean bag filled tent that was meant to be showing children’s films but the sporting events of the weekend took over making it standing room only for the England Euros quarter final, Wimbledon and the British Grand Prix, but I guess it was to be expected at a Brit Fest.

John Collins Funfair

A large funfair filled what seemed like a field-and-a-half with great rides and fairground attractions which operated all weekend. The Ghost Train had an airhorn that seemed louder than anything coming out of the speakers on the main stage, the Fun House worked for little kids and adults who were also allowed to go down the twisty slide (or at least, no-one said I couldn’t, so I did). The non-musical highlight of the weekend for my son was slamming me into the sidings on the dodgem ride.

Artisan Markets

The Brit Fest boasted lots of stalls selling sweet treats, cheeses and gin as well as the usual festival bucket hat and clothing traders. Unfortunately for them, the layout of the festival site meant their stalls were in an area that wouldn’t get passing trade so it never felt as lively as it could have. No doubt this will be rectified next year because there were many interesting wares on display from local merchants.

Food and drink

For anyone wanting to stick to the British theme for the entire weekend there were fish and chips on offer and hot buttered crumpets but even though the music is British based, the food stalls offered a great variety of tasty food from all over the globe. From posh hot dogs and buttermilk chicken burgers to noodles, gyros and paella, there was lots of amazing looking and tasting food on offer. The meals we had from Big Mouth Gyoza and Grills & Chills were particularly outstanding. Unlike at some more established festivals where it can take up to an hour to get food or be served at the bar, there were no such problems here when the only time there seemed to be a queue of 15 minutes was for coffees and hot chocolates when the sun went down. The bars serving beer, cider and cocktails never seemed to have any queues worthy of the name.

Ambience

It was all very civilised with no flying pints glasses of any liquid and there were no signs of any aggravation or any edge to the atmosphere at all. The majority of people were placing their rubbish in the bins and the remainder was being quickly collected by the many litter pickers. It is likely to be the quickest clean up after any pop music festival. It was a very family friendly festival seeing random children using jumpers for goalposts and going off playing a huge game of football and making new friends. The only time I saw teenagers attempting to hit anything was when they were lashing out to pop the enormous bubbles from Sam Sam Bubble Man. Considering Altrincham is so close to Manchester the difference between a Cheshire festival and a Manchester festival was never as stark as when “Don’t Look Back in Anger” played over the sound system and there wasn’t a mass sing-a-long.

It is clear from my own experience and from overhearing many people when heading out of the festival that everyone had a great time on each of the three days. From the friendly security staff to the sound, lighting and production teams the festival was very well managed. For many, the music, the dancing, the space, the food and the fun will stay long in the memory and hopefully they will all be eager to do it all again at Brit Fest 2025. I know I will.

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George Rainsford (Casualty, Call the Midwife) plays Sam as a thoroughly dislikeable, snooty scientist and sceptic, whose standard mansplaining response of “I think you’ll find” is a badge he is proud to wear. Jenny, the lapsed Catholic, who begins to re-question her beliefs due to the events is believably performed by Fiona Wade (Priya Sharma in Emmerdale) as she gets increasingly frustrated with her husband’s dismissive attitude.

Vera Chok (Hollyoaks) stars as Lauren, Sam’s old friend from University who opens up more as the night wears on. Former The Wanted singer Jay McGuiness completes the excellent cast and gives a surprisingly amusing performance as Lauren’s latest partner, Ben, providing the show’s main light relief. Ben has opposite views to Sam on every topic.

Writer Danny Robins, who created the eerie BBC podcast The Battersea Poltergeist, uses these clashing personalities to explore the theories behind supernatural occurrences and possible practical explanations so for the majority of the show you are wondering if you are watching a traditional ghost story or a story about what people perceive to be ghosts. The dialogue seems natural and Robins weaves in everyday, ordinary occurrences that can be seen as spooky which have rational explanations, such as creaky floorboards or smart speakers suddenly bursting into life. As someone who has recently been scared witless having woken in the middle of the night to the sound of screaming foxes it is comforting to know the same sound played in a theatre makes many others jump out of their skin.

The static set designed by Anna Fleischle, is a living room undergoing renovation, knocked through to an open plan kitchen and large patio doors leading to a foggy back yard, cleverly illuminated with a jarring security light. A large, red, 1980’s bedside alarm style clock ticks the minutes along in real-time, looming over the couples as the eponymous time draws ever closer, and making your mind race as you try to second guess what will happen. A baby upstairs, out of sight; a bedroom window mysteriously opening directly above the patio windows; a property recently vacated by elderly inhabitants; increasingly fraught protagonists – so many possibilities.

Immersive lighting also plays an important part, with the whole auditorium going dark with even the fire escape sign lights being temporarily disabled. The subtle use of sound designed by Ian Dickinson cranks up the tension.

Do not expect every moment to have “The Woman In Black” levels of intensity, with the show containing far more laugh out loud moments than many shows billed as comedies. The play is unlikely to give you nightmares but it does keep you guessing, involved and entertained. And don’t worry if you’ve got a long journey home afterwards because you will have plenty to discuss on the way; just make sure you are back before 2:22 a.m.

2: 22 A Ghost Story is at The Lowry, Salford from 4 to 15 June 2024.

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This National Theatre production starts out fully rooted in grim reality when a middle-aged man returns to the location of his upbringing for his father’s funeral. While escaping to find some solitude he stumbles across an old lady that he first met on his 12th birthday. We then see this boy walking through the woods, discovering his dad’s stolen car and a dead body in the driver’s seat. Forced by his father to leave the area he meets a girl, Lettie Hempstock, and they become instant friends. The boy struggles with friends at school, preferring to spend his time reading fantasy novels such as The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Alice in Wonderland. The themes of these books cross-over into this play with the idea of there being a mundane gateway between worlds. In this instance, it is a duck pond (or ocean as Lettie calls it).

Embarking on adventures in the forest Lettie and the boy manage to allow an evil creature to come to this world. Charlie Brooks, best known for playing EastEnders schemer, Janine Butcher, is wonderfully cast as Ursula, the witch/new tenant from another dimension. She manages to be generous, fun and sweet in front of the dad and his daughter (Laurie Ogden) yet mean and scary when alone with the boy. Both Kier Ogilvy (the boy) and Millie Hikasa (Lettie) make convincing innocent children having to deal with uncertainty, peril and change.

This thought-provoking spectacular show gives us many conundrums to consider. How do we determine who we are? Can our face really define us when it changes over time? Did these events really happen like this or are the children using their imagination to battle their grief? Did we really enjoy eating Pop-Tarts in the 1980’s?

Trevor Fox plays the dad struggling to come to terms with the loss of his wife and how he is managing to bring up his children when he can’t manage to keep track of his neck ties or make toast without burning it. His affable performance suddenly turns chilling in a bathroom scene.

The rest of the cast are also on form with the powerful presence of Flinty Williams grabbing everyone’s attention as Old Mrs Hempstock and Kemi-Bo Jacobs bringing emotional depth to Ginnie Hempstock.

Jarring and intense sound and music composed by Jherek Bischoff combined with the impressive woodland set and gigantic puppets make this show an immersive experience. The slick direction by Katy Rudd has the show moving along at a great pace and her inclusion of some clever magic tricks keeps the audience captivated throughout. This is an extraordinary event and I thoroughly recommend you dive into this ocean.

The National Theatre’s production of The Ocean at the End of the Lane is at The Lowry, Salford from 12 December 2022 to 8 January 2023. Age guidance 12+.

Read our interview with author Neil Gaiman.

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Joseph is one of Jacob’s dozen sons but being his father’s favourite breeds jealousy from his siblings. It all becomes too much for the brother’s when Joseph is the only one given an amazing technicolor coat and goes on to tell them about his dream in which they will all bowed down before him. Fuelled by jealous rage the brothers gather together to sell Joseph into slavery, returning a blood-stained coat to his devastated father.

Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams serves as both a blessing and a curse, getting him both into and out of difficult situations. Jac Yarrow brings the demeanor, confidence, charm and warmth to the lead role, displaying why Joseph would be so popular to a parent yet instil jealousy in those trying to keep up to his standards. His voice is fantastic and was deservedly shown extended appreciation following the raw emotion and control he brought to Close Every Door.

Alexandra Burke has made a swift return to Manchester after her perfect pantomime performance in Aladdin with a sparkling role of the Narrator. Her wonderful vocals, dancing and energy were a joy to behold.

The all too brief second act appearance of Jason Donovan’s Pharaoh brought a roar from those in the crowd who remember his chart-topping time as the wearer of the eponymous garment. Usually the Pharaoh role is played as a full-on Elvis impersonator from the Vegas years and the although Donovan dons “The King” rhinestone cloak he steers clear of attempting the distinctive Presley voice. The director, Laurence Connor, resisted the temptation to allow Donovan to reprise his Joseph role during the Joseph Megamix at the end and although the roof would have come off if he’d just sang the line, “I close my eyes”, it was the right call to keep Yarrow front and centre.

The show is filled with laughter and fun, catchy songs inspired by different musical genres, be it the Hoedown and Line Dancing of One More Angel in Heaven, French retrospective Those Canaan Days or the Caribbean sounds of Benjamin Calypso.

The set and costume design by Morgan Large is astonishing in that it harks back to the original school play roots of the show by having sparse two-dimensional backdrops but these are then interspersed with stunning camel puppets and 30-foot guitar wielding statues.

With this being a cantata, the pace never lets up and the children in the cast bounce about with great infectious energy.

Go, go, go to see this production of Joseph while it is still in Manchester.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is at The Opera House, Manchester from 23 March to 2 April 2022.

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Less than a week after children all over the land have been going to school dressed as one of many of David Walliams’ characters for World Book Day 2022, this musical adaptation by Neal Foster of one of his early novels, Billionaire Boy, arrives at the Palace Theatre. The lead character here, Joe Spud (Matthew Gordon), would have been ideal for a last minute emergency costume because the 12-year-old is only ever seen dressed in a school uniform.

The uniform itself does change, because initially Joe attends Saint Cuthbert’s the most expensive school in the country, but given his father (Matthew Mellalieu) has earned his vast fortune by inventing Bum Fresh toilet tissue, Joe doesn’t fit in with the offspring of the landed gentry and is outcast for being from new money. With the children taking time out from their fox-hunting and tax-avoidance lessons to call him insulting names, such as ‘Bum Boy’, Joe wants to leave for the local comprehensive so he can find a friend. He does so rather quickly after bonding with Bob (Jake Lomas) when, as the two most overweight children in the year group, they trail in last in the cross country PE race. How they deal with bullies, school life, secrets and each other forms the main narrative and the themes of what money can or can not buy.

Gordon and Lomas both turn in vibrant yet sympathetic performances that come with a hint of desperation that have the crowd willing their friendship to succeed. The original songs by Jak Poore are performed with great enthusiasm by the whole cast. In particular, Emma Matthews provides an entertaining Mrs Trafe, the Dinner Lady serving up a vast list of gruesome school meals including snot macaroni and toenail ice-cream. There were also plenty of laughs of acknowledgement to the song made up of typical schoolteacher sayings like, ‘walk don’t run’.

Jacqueline Trousdale has designed an imaginative set made up of boxes and stacked toilet rolls that switches from the Bum Fresh Towers mansion, to the schools and the corner shop owned by optimistic Raj (Tuhin Chisti).

If you are familiar with any of Walliams work you will have a good idea of the juvenile toilet humour, stereotypes and child-friendly gross out gags that are littered throughout. First and foremost though, this is a show for children, the vast majority of whom will have enjoyed at least one of his books previously and will be well aware of what to expect. Judging by the kids reactions at the end, they thoroughly enjoyed themselves and go home feeling grateful that their favourite toy isn’t a rocket made of cardboard loo roll inserts.

Billionaire Boy is at The Palace Theatre, Manchester from 9-12 March 2022 and touring.

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The musical Footloose, adapted from the 1980’s movie of the same name, invites you to kick off your Sunday shoes and enjoy over two hours of great entertainment. The show contains the most well known songs from the film and includes lots of original songs composed by Tom Snow with lyrics from Dean Pritchard who wrote the original screenplay.

Joshua Hawkins may not be top billing but he brings the lead character of High School Senior, Ren McCormack to life with a cheeky confidence.

When Ren’s father abandons him and his mother, Ethel (Geri Allen), they have to leave the lively metropolis of Chicago to move in with Ethel’s brother in the small Bible-belt town of Bomont. The trouble for Ren is that he is an energetic teenager who, typically, loves pop music and dancing but they have been banned in town for the last five years following the deaths of four youngsters whose drink and drug driving after a night out resulted in a drop from a high bridge into the Potawney River. The whole town has been in a forced state of mourning ever since and are constantly reminded of the apparent evils of dance by the powerful Reverend Shaw Moore (Darren Day) and everything about Ren rubs him (and most of the town) up the wrong way.

There is the irony of Day playing a father who doesn’t want his daughter, Ariel, hanging around with the bad boys given his tabloid headlining past, but their is no doubting the quality of his voice or performance. He plays a man teaching his own misinterpretations of his faith and struggling with his own demons and insecurities.

Ariel is played by Lucy Munden in her professional debut and she appears to be relishing the rebellious nature of her character while more than holding her own while belting out Holding Out For A Hero.

As well as his budding relationship with Ariel, Ren forms a friendship with country hick, Willard (Jake Quickenden) who provides laughs throughout and is utterly charismatic with it. Through all the coming-of-age and processing of separation and grief some of the characters go through, there are many other characters who are there just for the giggles and the songs. Oonagh Cox, Samantha Richards and Jess Barker provide plenty of laughs and while performing Let’s Hear It For The Boy, they team up with Quickenden getting him down to his Rocky Horror / Kylie Minogue gold hot pants which alone might get some repeat visitors judging by the reaction.

Racky Plews has directed a pacey show that has the musicians on stage with the majority of actors playing multiple instruments while dressed in their colourful 80’s garb. The packed crowd barely needed any encouragement to get on their feet for a lawful dance to the final megamix and applaud the talented cast.

Footloose is at Opera House Manchester from 28 February to 5 March 2022.

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The Geomag Mechanics Gravity Loops and Turns set is a construction toy that allows children to fire metal spheres around tracks of their own creation. The metal spheres are compatible with those from the Geomag Classic series.

Each element of the circuit is made with 74% recycled plastic in lime green, teal, orange, white or clear plastic. To retain the balls on the course, the sides of the tracks have a high curved edge and the ball bearings move about like they are a child zipping down a waterslide.

Magnetic cannons fire the balls around the track so when one sphere reaches the cannon a ball on the other side is propelled around by track by the difference in polarity. This propulsion is powerful enough to get the ball to perform a full 360 degree loop and continue around the track.

It isn’t immediately intuitive as to how each of the 15 types of pieces join to one another but the 32 page instruction booklet is packed with clear diagrams of the correct ways to link the different structural elements together and how to make them interact. Once you’ve quickly mastered the basics, connecting the components and making elaborate routes for the balls to travel along is straightforward.

There are enough pieces to make an assortment of different tracks and you are not restricted to making the one outlined in the booklet. Children will get a lot of satisfaction using their STEM skills to determine how steep they can set the ramp or how far the cannon can fire.

Even when the set wasn’t being used to create circuits, my son had great fun experimenting with the connector pieces building unusual shapes and playthings.

The set can also be joined with one or more of the other Geomag Mechanics Gravity sets that are available such as the Race Track or Gravity Motor using the Easy Combo System to produce larger circuits and more elaborate movement. This particular Loops and Turns set is aimed at children of 8 and over but there are other Geomags Mechanics Gravity sets that are suitable for those 7 and above.

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